February 10, 2014

In the Kitchen: Brunswick Stew

Comfort food is personal. For my husband, it is a grilled cheese dipped in ketchup, and for me it is brunswick stew. Growing up, whenever we had a large snowfall brunswick still was most likely cooking on the stove. While my brother and I would spend the day sledding and having snowball fights with our neighbors, my mom was at home making my favorite stew. She always made hers with chicken, but I decided to switch things up with a pork loin. This stew has a strong barbecue flavor, which is a nice reminder that warmer days are ahead.

Brunswick Stew

1 pound pork loin cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, diced

28 ounces crushed tomates

5 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup vinegar barbecue sauce

1/4 cup sweet barbecue sauce

1/8 cup worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 russet potatoes, diced

1/2 quart frozen white corn

1/2 quart frozen lima beans

Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Make sure the pork is dry by patting with a paper towel and then season with salt and pepper. Sear meat in the dutch oven in two batches, making sure all sides are brown. Remove meat and place on a plate lined with paper plates.

Add diced onion and garlic and cook for about ten minutes or until translucent. Then, add crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, barbecue sauces, and worcestershire sauce. Make sure to get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil. Place the meat back in the dutch oven along with the diced potatoes, corn, lima beans, and cayenne pepper. Lower heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 1-2 hours until desired thickness is reached.